wireless upstairs in my bedroom (no Ethernet cable available ).

eleanorm

wireless upstairs in my bedroom (no Ethernet cable available ).

Hello, I'd love your help if possible. atm my BT router is downstairs in my lounge but in my bedroom i have my wireless laptop but the connection is slower (compared to the machines downstairs) . My Question is : if I buy a wireless range extender, would that help matters. and also, would the extender be placed in my upstairs bedroom and be permanently connected to the laptop - or is a power source sufficient enough. Once again, I do not have an Ethernet outlet in the bedroom, so please bear that in mind. If the extender does have to be permanently connected to laptop via an Ethernet cable then that is not an issue for me. Finally, is the initial setup difficult -- does the extender need to 'talk' to the router downstairs? Thanks all for your help.

would something like this be okay:
Belkin-Wireless-Universal-Range-Extender/dp/B000IE8STS

{i cannot post link}.

Daniluvsuall1

There are simple free things you can do to boost your wireless coverage such as;

Remove any of the following from your line of sight to the router;

- Washing machines
- tumble dryers
- cordless phones
- baby monitors
- wireless tv senders/receivers

And avoid using a Hoover or a tumble dryer they create radio interference which in turn will slow your Internet down.

Simpler cheaper option failing the above as a wireless repeater will make everything twice as slow is buy what's called a "power line adaptor" it runs Ethernet cables over your local electrical cables and they are quite cheap, have a google around for them.

If you are technically minded try changing your wireless channel to either 1, 6 or 12 these are all non-overlapping radio channels and will increase your wireless speed if you are near lots of neighbours that have wireless Internet too.

Hope that helps.

eleanorm

Saver0811 wrote: »

I have my router downstairs behind the TV & SKY box, and wireless landline phone, on the other side of the wall is the fridge freezer.

I did test the speeds using either wireless, or ethernet cable, and found absolutely no difference.

Same with positioning the router aerial vertical or horizontal.

Using an iMac upstairs, brick walls, with built in wireless Airport, so possibly a better signal than a laptop.



If there is another computer connected wirelessly at the same time, that will slow things down.

Have you tested the wireless connection with the laptop in the same room as the router ?

yes i have tested the bedroom laptop in same router room and speed is much better ; that's why i wish to buy an extender but i am just worried about initial setup. is it complicated and does it just need a power source or does it need Ethernet cable too ; the latter is a problem as my bedroom does not have an Ethernet socket. (but obviously my laptop has an Ethernet port ). Thanks .

flashg67

Extender will need a power socket, but isn't physically connected to your lapyop - it acts like your current wireless router in that you connect wirelessly when your laptop is on. Many routers can be used in extender mode but can be tricky to set up. A dedicated extender such as in your link should be fairly straight forward to set up though.

Have you looked at 'homeplugs' which use your home mains wiring and ethernet cables to extend your network?

RobertoMoir

I'm not normally a fan of homeplugs - I'm the kind of geek who would rather run cat5 through the walls instead - but if you don't fancy that/can't do that and this laptop is used in one static position upstairs - at a desk or something, say, then this is one case where I'd have to suggest the homeplug solution too.

This will likely work much better than any solution that involves wireless extenders... if the wireless signal is just plain bad then an extender is limited in how much it can help you. It can't turn a pigs ear into a silk purse.

eleanorm

okay thanks. so the homeplug, may i ask: do i need to configure the router in order for it work. because my router is a BT router and they don't make homeplugs. so if i buy a belkin or other homeplug is just plug and play? this is my fear: how much configuration will i need to do. will i plug the homeplug into my bedroom power socket and laptop? thanks .

oh and yes, the bedroom laptop is just used in one position when i am in bed: the wireless connection is stable. t doesn't drop or anything ; it's just the pages take a little bit longer to load ; this is not so the case downstairs and so the router itself is fine. i am just a bit confused now as to whether to go down the homeplug or extender route.

@flash, thanks, so just a power socket is needed and would i keep the extender in my bedroom?